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The Costa Blanca Cup breaks a new participation record this year in its most international edition.

 

• The sporting event will bring together a total of 305 teams from 30 countries from July 2 to 12 to compete in soccer and futsal tournaments.
• Organisers expect direct spending of 1.8 million and an economic impact on the destination of close to 10 million. 

The 2025 Costa Blanca Cup will be a record-breaking edition, both in terms of teams and the number of participating countries in the two competitions: the international football tournament and the futsal tournament. This was announced this Friday by the director of the CBC and manager of Tour-Sport, Fernando Brotons, and the Sports Councilor of Benidorm City Council, Javier Jordá, who publicly presented this new edition, which will be held from July 2 to 12 and will bring together a total of 305 teams from 30 countries around the world. With this, the Costa Blanca Cup consolidates its position as the most important international grassroots football event in the country. 

The tournament will kick off with the indoor competition, which will take place between July 2 and 6, and which this year marks its twentieth anniversary. Ninety-seven teams from 11 countries have entered the competition, giving it a much more international character than the previous edition, when four countries participated. Of the 97 teams, 22 are local, 37 are from other regions of Spain, and 38 are from abroad. For the first time, the number of teams from outside Spain outnumbers the number of national participants. 

This tournament will then link up with the 31st Costa Blanca Cup, which will be held between July 6 and 12. 208 teams from 19 countries will compete, including 51 local teams, 80 national teams, and 77 international teams.  

A total of 719 matches will be played across both sports, spread across the seven venues the organization operates. For the soccer matches, the tournament structure is divided into age categories, both male and female, for the 11-a-side and 8-a-side soccer competitions. The same will apply to the futsal event, with the men's and women's teams also divided into age categories. 

The organisers explained that in order to accommodate all the people arriving to participate in this tournament—not only participants and coaching staff but also accompanying guests—they have promoted, through sports tourism, the occupancy of 24 hotels to accommodate nearly 4,000 people, many of whom will extend their stays beyond the specific dates of the tournament. Not surprisingly, Fernando Brotons recalled some of the key data provided by the Economic Impact Study for the 2024 edition prepared by the University of Valencia, which estimates direct spending in the destination at €1.8 million and the economic impact of the study at around €10 million, with €5.6 million in revenue, the equivalent of the creation of 113 jobs annually. Or, to put it another way, for every euro invested in organizing the event, €19.10 was generated in the Valencian economy. 

The study also estimates the average expenditure of participating athletes at 685 euros and that of each of their companions at 725.50 euros, with an average stay of 6.65 and 6 days, respectively, at both events.  

After highlighting these figures, the director of the Costa Blanca Cup highlighted its constant growth, "which has always been international and already had players from nine countries in its first edition," as well as the emphasis on its tourism aspect, "something it has always had and which generates a high-quality and very tangible return." He also considered that the Costa Blanca Cup has another "intangible" return, namely that the players "are young people who will have the opportunity to spend time with boys and girls their age from other countries around the world these days; to take away great memories of Benidorm and, in the future, return to the city as tourists."

For his part, Benidorm City Council's Sports Councilor, Javier Jordá, welcomed the Costa Blanca Cup "to our city once again" and thanked Tour-Sport "for continuing to support Benidorm and this tournament, whose figures reflect its continued strong standing." 

In this regard, the councilor highlighted the 60% increase in participation recorded for this edition and expressed his satisfaction and that of the city "for the imminent arrival of thousands of young people and their families, who will be staying, extending their stays, and getting to know Benidorm and other boys and girls from all over the world thanks to this tournament, speaking a single language: football." 

 

Team 'Arrels CF'

Among this year's special features, in addition to the participation of men's, women's, and adapted teams of different ages, the organisation has invited a women's soccer team to participate in the Costa Blanca Cup, comprised of a selection of players from towns within the "ground zero" of the DANA (National Association of Sports) event held on October 29th in the province of Valencia. This team, known as "Arrels Club de Fútbol," was already invited to participate in another youth soccer tournament held by Tour-Sport in Valencia and will now participate in the Costa Blanca Cup as a tribute and show of solidarity with all the clubs and athletes affected by the disaster. 

 

From the UK:

Matlock Town  Derbyshir England

Blyth Town Ladies  Northumberland England

Dartford FC Kent England

Totally Goals London England

Halifax Irish  Yorkshire England

Whitley Bay BC  Newcastle England

Coleshill Town Colts  Birmingham England

Kendal Youth  Cumbria England

Wattsfield JFC  Cumbria England

Rishton United  Blackburn  England

FC Rangers  Blackpool England

Fishwick Rangers Preston England

Primrose Hill  Middlesbrough England

Leigh Genesis  Lancashire England

Wright Robinson SC  Manchester England

Spennymoor Ladies  Co Durham England

Harmony Row BC  Glasgow Scotland

South Belfast YFL  Belfast Northern Ireland

Pollok United  Glasgow Scotland

Montagu + North Fenham BC  Newcastle-upon-Tyne England

 

Hednesford Town    Staffs    England

 

Elm Grove  Devon England